I ran the TCS 2025 London Marathon as part of #TeamBowelCancerUK.

They are the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. They're determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. Your support will help stop people dying of bowel cancer by funding vital services and lifesaving research.

My father was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2018 at 84 years of age. For us, his family, this seemed like the end. On being given the awful news following his colonoscopy his options were clearly outlined, he asked ‘If I have surgery will I be able to play the piano once I’m up and about?’ – the reply ‘Yes, I am sure you will be able, once into recovery’ – ‘That’s great as I’ve never played one before’... None of us know how long he had that joke up his sleeve, I doubt many people deliver it if they ever get the chance.

Recognising his positivity, obvious sense of humour and apparent state of health, the surgeon at Peterborough City Hospital believed he and his team could perform successful colorectal surgery and an ileostomy, promising that if possible he would reverse the ileostomy at a later date. The operation to remove the cancer took place in June despite concerns from the anaesthetist that his heart may not be strong enough, the surgeon felt his heart ‘might kill him’, but the cancer ‘definitely would’. So they went ahead.

Post-op support was fantastic, both through hospital reviews and stoma clinics and via the Bowel Cancer UK website, the peer support for Dad was invaluable when he felt he didn’t want to talk to us, likewise the tips for us as family and carers, the entire system is remarkable.

With the anaesthetist adamant that there would be no further surgery without the heart being sorted, Dad had surgery for aortic stenosis and a pacemaker fitted in April 2019 at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester. As promised, the surgeon at Peterborough City Hospital performed the ileostomy reversal in October 2019, with remarkable recovery results, allowing Dad his Christmas Dinner with family around the table.

In February 2024, Dad hosted his 90th birthday celebrations with a room full of friends and family, including his great grandchildren

As we head from Spring to Summer 2025, he is currently painting the exterior woodwork on his beloved cottage. When I remind him he is 'probably taking on too much' and 'you should have three points of contact on a ladder', he reminds me he's happier up a ladder than in a hospital bed, and that's thanks to the surgery teams at Peterborough and Glenfield and to Bowel Cancer UK as they made everything he does today possible. I cannot express how happy I am that he can share some of his love of life with our two children.

I am proud to have run the London Marathon to raise vital funds for Bowel Cancer UK as a small token of all our gratitude for the fantastic work they do and the brilliant support they offer, that effects so many lives.

Thank you for your support!